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Crawford Lackey welcomes Tom Mayes, Chief Legal Officer of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Together, they explore how historic places like James Madison's Montpelier connect us to the origins of the Constitution and why preserving these spaces matters for democracy.

(4/4) Lukáš Jančička image, Pixabay

(3/4) #Madison wrote, “Mrs. M. insists on adding for Mrs. Monroe a few pickles & preserves with half a dozen bottles of Gooseberries & a bag of dried cherries, which will not be wanted by us till another season will afford a supply...”
Did you pickle or preserve this year?

(2/4) but enslaved cooks could pickle them, dry them, or make preserves – ensuring a year-round food supply.
In February 1798, #DolleyMadison sent a gift of #pickles and #preserves to James and Elizabeth Monroe, who had just moved back to Virginia from France.

(4/) Unidentified artist, Martin van Buren, c. 1837.
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Mrs. Robert Timpson Conserved with funds from the Smithsonian Women's Committee

(3/4) Stewart stated: “I was, you see, but a boy then, but I know that many noted men came to see him. ... Van Buren was there while he was a candidate for the presidency of the United States.”
Check out our blog post for other VIP visitors! www.montpelier.org/three-presid...

(2/4) Mr. Martini was a #diplomat from the #Netherlands, and the VP was #MartinVanBuren, then running for President in 1836.
Did the “promised visit” actually happen? An 1888 newspaper interview with Ben Stewart, formerly #enslaved at Montpelier, is the final piece of evidence.

commemorate America’s 250th anniversary!

Engage with history in a whole new way, collect passport stamps, enjoy exclusive discounts and prizes, and discover how Virginia helped shape the story of our nation. Start your journey at VirginiaHistory.org/250Passport #VA250Passport #VA250

(2/2) On #VeteransDay, we honor all members of America’s #armedforces who have given so much in defense of our #liberty – from the #AmericanRevolution to the present day. #ThankYouForYourService!

US Marine color guard at Madison Family Cemetery, Montpelier photo.

(2/2) ...Order and symmetry equally appear in the great outlines and in the most minute features of it.”

Where have you seen symmetry at Montpelier?

#spiderweb photo taken on Montpelier’s lawn by Bill Bichell, courtesy of Montpelier.

(3/3) Do you have a message for James Madison’s 21-year-old self? Tell us in the comments!
1783 miniature by Charles Willson Peale, courtesy of Library of Congress.

(2/3) Fortunately Madison’s forebodings were wrong! Two years later, Madison found his calling in #government and #politics during the #RevolutionaryWar. He lived to the ripe old age of 85, and somehow managed to accomplish more than a few “extraordinary things in this world.”

(2/2) And come visit Montpelier to see the excavations going on in the blacksmith shop where Moses worked! #SayTheirNames #BlackHistory #AmericanHistory #InvisibleFounders #CompleteAmericanStory @jmmdescendants @SavingPlaces #enslaved